Not everyone has extended their indoor season this far.
For the athletes that have met the qualification standards for this week’s New Balance Nationals, you should be commended for earning the rite to showcase your talents against some of the country’s finest. From Thursday to Sunday, it will be an intense four days of competition at the TRACK at New Balance with PRs and school records expected to fall in bunches by the throngs of athletes heading to Beantown for what’s been deemed, “The Fastest Party On The Planet.”
Who are the athletes that have a chance to make an impact at the New Balance Nationals? Who are the select few that can also earn All-American by finishing among the top six individuals and top six relays in the Championship events? Can anyone strike it rich and earn gold against the nation’s best?
Let’s find out.
Breaking it down day-by-day, here’s what we consider the must-see events involving our T&F stars.
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THURSDAY
The first day of competition could start off with a bang and our best chance to win a national title, or at least come close. We’re talking about the boys’ 5,000-meter run. This event features Westford Academy’s Jack Graffeo, a third-place finisher this past fall at the Foot Locker Nationals. Just like last year, the gifted senior did not compete in any MSTCA or MIAA event this winter. In fact, he didn’t compete much this season. There’s a reason. His focus is clearly on prospering at New Balance. In preparation for the nationals, Graffeo raced in two high-level meets over the last month. At the BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational, Graffeo smashed the state record in the 5K with a nation-leading 14:06.49. A few weeks later, the Colorado-bound runner was second in the 3,000m at The CIRCUIT in Boston with another state mark of 8:13.24. Yes, the verdict is in on Graffeo. The Westford Academy standout, who was second in the two mile at the outdoor nationals, should be ready to contend when the gun is fired for the start of the race (8:11 p.m.). Who are some of his top rivals? At least two come to mind. The favorite here is Tayvon Kitchen of Crater, Ore. Kitchen is ranked No. 1 in the country in the two mile after winning The CIRCUIT in Chicago with an all-time best of 8:41.21. The talented senior was also one of three runners this season that broke four minutes for the mile at the Terrier DMR Challenge a few weeks ago with a 3:59.61 best. He was also second in the 5K at the Nike Outdoor Nationals and fifth in this race last year with a PR of 14:18.76. Owen Kelley of Bentonville (AR) could also pose a threat. He ranks No. 2 for 3,200m with a PR of 8:55.89 from the Mizzou Elite HS Distance Invitational on Feb. 7. Look for a winning time in the low 14-minute range, perhaps sub-14. In this event, we could have several of our Bay Staters breaking 15 minutes. Among them are Marblehead’s Nathaniel Assa, the two-mile winner at the Div. 1 meet and Meet of Champions (MOC), and Boston College High’s Greg McGrath. Both are low nine-minute two-milers.
Only 11 teams in the country have broken 7:50 for the 4x800m. One of them happens to be from MA. Ranked No. 8 from coast-to-coast is Brookline, which was third at the New England Championships on March 1 with a school record of 7:49.2. A time in that mid-7:40 range could be enough to land a spot on the podium. The Warriors certainly have a legit shot to make that happen. Lowell is also in this race. The Red Raiders were our victors at the MOC with a best of 7:56.24, a time that ranks No. 2 in the state.
FRIDAY
The second longest race of the meet will be held on this day with the two mile. Both the girls’ and boys’ events have some quality runners lining up in the Championship events. Belmont’s Dana Lehr is our state’s top entry for girls. She brings a best of 10:33.19 to the race, an effort she ran to place second at the MOC. It will probably take a time in the 10:15 range to earn a top-six finish. That could be stretch for Lehr, who has also done 9:40 for 3K. But you never know.
How about the boys’ deuce? The Magicians’ Assa made it clear to us that his goal is to break nine minutes. In his last two meets, he’s gone 9:05.30 (at Div. 1) and 9:04.60 (at MOC). He’s certainly going in the right direction. Don’t rule out Falmouth’s Silas Gartner. The Clipper junior, who has only run a limited amount of all-out races this winter, has a PR of 9:08 from the MOC last spring.. The Foot Locker finalist ran bests of 4:14 for the mile and 8:35.40 for the 3K this season. He might be ready for a big race.
There will be several strong teams in the DMR. For the boys, Boston Latin, Brookline, Natick and Marshfield are among our best foursomes. Bookended by Matt McCabe (1,200m leg) and Graham Heinrich (mile anchor), Marshfield is a team that’s got the ability to run around 10:15, possibly faster. McCabe owns a 4:24 mile best and has done 1:55 for the 800m. He has the potential to lead off with a sub 3:10 for his leg, while Heinrich can bring it home strong. He has a best of 4:12 for the mile. The state’s No. 1 team for girls will also be competing this weekend with Newton North entered.
Friday also happens to be Day 2 of the Pentathlon. At last year’s meet, North Reading’s Giuliana Ligor was fifth overall with a PR of 3,432 points. No doubt she’ll be looking to match or exceed that performance this weekend.
The shot features four athletes that have exceeded 65 feet, including top seed Alex Jackson of Peabody. Jackson owns a best of 66-6.25 from the start of the season. The Tanner senior is coming off his second best toss of the winter, a title-winning distance of 64-9.25 from the New England Championship. Right behind him is CT’s Chris Amy of Norwich Free Academy (65-7), NJ’s Jonathan Harris of Delsea Regional (65-6) and TN’s Bryce Thompson of Farragut (65-5), just to name a few 60-footers in this loaded field.
The high jump includes three athletes that have cleared seven feet this season with NY’s Ryan Buskey of Colonie (7-2), NC’s Tommy Pringle (7-0) and OH’s Elijah Harris (7-0), holders of the 2-3-4 spots in the national rankings, in this event. Right near this trio is Shrewsbury’s Derek Shimer, who is just an inch shy of joining the seven-foot club. Shimmer soared to a PR of 6-11 to capture the New England crown a few weeks ago. You certainly can’t count him out when you’re listing contenders.
Five athletes in the long jump have exceeded 24 feet with nation-leader Aiden Bryant of Midlakes (NY) leading the quintet with a best of 24-10.75. While they may not crack the top six, MA entries – Peabody’s Evan Bedard (23-1.75), New Leadership Charter’s Thalys Silva (22-10.25) and Milton’s Zakai Perskins (22-10 – could produce a competition of their own. The trio are ranked 1-2-3 in the state right now.
Emmanuella Edozien soared to her first 19-footer in the long jump nearly two weeks ago when she earned a silver medal at the New England’s with a best of 19-4. She’ll be looking to continue that momentum this weekend by hitting that milestone for the second straight time. last year, 19-7 landed a spot on the podium. A few more inches on her best may do the same., You never know. Newton North’s Blake MacNeal is also in the field. She came less than a foot from 19 feet at the New England’s where she leaped a state No. 2 of 18-11.25. Will this be the weekend she joins the 19-club?
SATURDAY
Our state’s newest state record-holders will be looking to advance to Sunday’s finals in the 60m hurdles with Brockton’s Lucas Andrade and Natick’s Edozien in the boys’ and girls’ races, respectively. Andrade has been red-hot in the 55m hurdles his last three meets, lowering his own state record to an astonishing 7.22 to claim his second straight New England title on March 1, an effort that also produced a New England record and ranks No. 7 in the country. There’s no question he’ll be in the mix this weekend. Edoizen matched her state record of 7.96 to finish second at the New England’s. She is currently No. 15 in the country.
Roxbury’s Levi Harrison leads a talent crew of half-milers. The gifted senior ran a state-leading 1:54.78 at the GBTC Invitational back on Jan. 19. Harrison also went 1:55.99 for the four-lapper two weeks ago at The CIRCUIT Boston. The Rams’ McCabe and Shane Leslie of Billerica, a 1:56 guy, are also entered.
On the girls’ side, Newton South’s Emily Frawley will be looking to improve on her 2:16 season best. She’s a few weeks removed from a big-time PR of 2:54.09 to place second at the MOC. That leads us to believe she could be close to attaining her PR of 2:12 from outdoor.
SUNDAY
Look for BC High’s Shamus Larnard and the Rams’ Heinrich to lead the way in the mile with the chance to maybe go under 4:10 with the level of competition they’ll be facing this weekend. Larnard ran his best of 4:11.09 to capture the Div. 1 title on Feb. 22. Heinrich clocked a PR of 4:12.55 to place second at the BU Last Chance Indoor National Qualifier on March 2.
At the beginning of the month, Westford Academy’s Abigail Hennessey snuck in an indoor best of 2:09.67 for 800m at the BU Last Chance Invite. That time put her at No. 15 in the country. It also make us believe that her injury from cross country is way back in the rearview mirror and she has potential to do something special in the girls’ mile. Hennessey was ninth in this event at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in June where she clocked her all-time best of 4:45.70. Yes, hard to believe that time didn’t land her on the podium. According to stats on athletic.net, Hennessey has only run the mile once indoors with a best of 5:14.75. She should be well under that time this weekend. Consider this, last spring Hennessey ran a PR of 2:09.82 at the New Balance Nationals and followed that effort with her 4:45 mile. Could we see something similar on Sunday with a sub 4:50 effort? Speaking of sub 4:50, we can’t forget Belmont’s Lehr, who did just that at BU’s John Terrier Classic with an all-time best of 4:48.67. Two other runners that should be under 4:50 are Newton North’s Ciara Evans (4:57.76) and Plymouth North’s Macey Shriner (4:58.17). MA should be well represented in this event.
You can’t forget Delmace Mayo of Brighton. Two years ago, the 18-year-old Mayo made history by becoming the first para-athlete to win the wheelchair mile at New Balance with a then best of 4:35.60. He has since lowered that time to 4:14.05, which he did at the Northeast Invitational on Jan. 10. It could be another record-breaking performance from this inspirational athlete in his specialty.
The girls’ shot is the only field event that will take place on Sunday. We got a good one there with Haverhill’s Madeline Goncalves. The Hillies’ senior has a PR of 43-0 from the Boston Holiday Challenge and has gone no less than 41 feet in 10 of the 12 events she has competed in this winter.
The meet finale, the 4x400m relay, features some of our state’s best quartets. For the boys, our 1-2-4 teams in the rankings will be in Boston with Lowell (3:23.61), Newton North (3:24.36) and Attleboro (3:25.42) among the entries. State-leader Amherst Pelham (3:55.70) along with No. 4 Milton (4:03.88) and No. 5 Newton North (4:04.50) are the top squads for girls.
